Chapter 41: The Crimson Wedding

Before Season Linmo could speak, "Ghost Teacher—Lan Nie" raised her foot, ready to charge into the bedroom.

Not good! The parrot is still inside; Lan Nie absolutely cannot be allowed in!

"Wait—"

Season Linmo grabbed Lan Nie, stepping sideways to block her path and shield her view.

"Ms. Nie, where did Haohao go? Didn't I just see him with you?"

Lan Nie snorted coldly, shoving Season Linmo's shoulder aside.

"Don't bring Haohao into this. Don't think I don't know—you just want to buy some time."

"Let me make myself clear: if I find you've stolen anything from my bedroom, don't blame me for being harsh."

Season Linmo glanced toward the bedroom.

At that moment, the yellow parrot was struggling to drag a videotape from inside, preparing to insert the one it had brought.

Not enough time, it needs a bit longer.

Season Linmo frowned, knowing he had to say something to block Lan Nie, or else his act of having the parrot retrieve the tape would be caught red-handed.

But perhaps there was only one thing that could make her pause instantly...

"Ms. Nie, is Haohao really your child?"

"What?"

Lan Nie was bewildered by this abrupt question, glaring at Season Linmo in confusion.

"Mr. Linmo, what do you mean by that? On what grounds do you say Haohao isn't my child?"

"Ms. Nie, have you forgotten? If you had a child, he should be a little kid."

Season Linmo looked calmly at Lan Nie, his pitch-black eyes serene.

"And here—could there really be a child?"

Since the first year of the Horror World, every adult on Earth over the age of eighteen could be chosen to participate in a four-year survival game.

And Haohao Nie, who appeared in the newspaper as one of the deceased players, couldn't possibly be younger than eighteen.

"You... you..."

Lan Nie froze in place. First she looked bewildered, then her expression changed abruptly as if awakened from a dream, desperately covering her mouth.

"My child! My child... is a daughter!"

"This... this isn't right, what's happening here?"

Thunder rumbled—

The ground shook violently again, the world spinning as porcelain and glass tumbled from tables, which themselves swayed precariously.

Season Linmo's frown deepened.

Provoking Lan Nie like this was a last resort, but he couldn't think of a better way at the moment.

"Hurry up!"

Inside the bedroom, the parrot's movements were hampered by the tremors.

But fortunately, it managed to snatch the videotape and, staggering, flew back with it in its beak.

Season Linmo quickly lifted the hem of his coat, and the parrot darted under the wide garment to hide.

"Lan Nie! Weren't you about to enter the bedroom? Snap out of it!"

Season Linmo reached out to pat Lan Nie's shoulder. Seeing her still lost in a nightmare, he grew anxious and shook her hard.

Finally, after repeated calls, "Ghost Teacher—Lan Nie" regained clarity in her eyes and, with her actions and expression, reverted to her earlier self, ready to storm into the bedroom.

It was as if someone had pressed play and the movie resumed its normal course.

Almost instantly, as she returned to normal, the shaking ceased.

It seemed things were back to normal.

Season Linmo breathed a sigh of relief.

He had really worried Lan Nie would remain trapped in her madness, letting the tremors escalate until the whole building collapsed.

"Ah... why is your hand on my arm? Get off!"

Lan Nie glanced at the hand on her shoulder in disgust, shook it off, and strode into the bedroom to finish what she had started.

As expected, Lan Nie's gaze fell upon the locked drawer.

In the next moment, she extended her delicate hand, and with a loud clang, the locked drawer was pulled open—despite the absence of a key.

Inside, the gray videotape still lay quietly.

"Hmph, the tape's still here. Looks like you didn't try anything sneaky."

Lan Nie snorted, then frowned in confusion, reaching into her pocket.

The pocket was empty—the key she had placed there had vanished.

"Ms. Nie, I honestly have no idea what you're talking about."

Season Linmo put on a sincerely earnest face.

"But if something's missing, perhaps it was dropped during your scuffle with the neighbor earlier?"

Reminded thus, Lan Nie seemed to recall something, her anger rising as she rushed out the door.

"201! Did you take my key? You grabbed my clothes during our argument! Unbelievable!"

"Old woman, stop making trouble! Clearly I didn't hit you hard enough before!"

"What! You... fine, if you dare, try it again!"

"If you want to fight, old woman, don't blame me for bullying you—let's take this to the hallway!"

Standing at the doorway, Haohao Nie watched the two women revert completely to their ghostly forms, their eyes red as they fought, and nervously hid behind "Ghost Granny—Yulan Gu."

"Young man, what a coincidence, meeting you here."

Granny Gu smiled and nodded to Season Linmo as he stepped out.

Season Linmo lifted his chin in greeting, then strode into Room 201.

He had obtained the videotape; next, he needed to find a projector to play it.

Besides Lan Nie's home, the only other projector was at Xingxing Yang's place in Room 201.

For safety's sake, it was better to watch it at Yang Xingxing's home.

[Blood Wedding of Xiaoming—Videotape]

[Item Description: A box of chaotic recordings; perhaps only a fool or the director would care to watch it.]

[Summary: Xiaohong from Room 403 is going to marry Xiaoming. What gifts will everyone bring?]

Static—

Static, static—

After a burst of noisy interference, the projector began to operate. The television flickered with a blurry image, finally focusing on two words.

—"Proposal"

Season Linmo watched the flickering screen, his brows tightly knit.

This time, the content of the tape was different from before.

He remembered that last time, the tape started with "Entering the Bridal Chamber."

"Husband... I'm pregnant."

On screen, Haohao Nie held a red-haired doll called "Xiaohong," speaking to another doll.

"In the game, one of the players is a traditional doctor—he took my pulse. You know I've been feeling unwell lately..."

The doll called Xiaoming immediately reached out to touch Xiaohong's belly.